Actor James Marden says the resources afforded him as a drama student while attending high school far exceeded the experiences of his peers in Hollywood.

Marsden spoke of the importance of strong arts programs in public schools as he was inducted into the Putnam City Schools Foundation’s 2010 Wall of Fame Tuesday. The 36-year-old attended Putnam City North High School in west Oklahoma City.

Marsden, whose films include “X-Men,” ”The Notebook,” and the recent comedy “Death at a Funeral,” says most of his peers didn’t have a stage to perform on, “much less a 1,600-seat performing arts center.”

I’ve uploaded screen captures of Jimmy at “Lopez Tonight” on April 15, 2010.

GALLERY LINK:
Screen Captures > TV Shows > [2010.04.15]”Lopez Tonight”

Jimmy and Lisa attended the Tod’s Boutique Grand Opening at Tod’s Boutique in Beverly Hills yesterday. I’ve uploaded 24 HQ photos from this event to the gallery.

(Edited: I added 30 more HQ photos from this event.)

GALLERY LINK:
Public Appearances > 2010 Appearances > [2010.04.15]Tod’s Boutique Grand Opening (HQ)

I added 12 HQ photos from the press conference for “Death At A Funeral”.

GALLERY LINK:
Photoshoot Outtakes > Photocalls > “Death At A Funeral” Press Conference (HQ)

Getting laughs can be a challenge when you’re starring alongside professional funnymen Tracy Morgan, Martin Lawrence and Chris Rock.
So what’s an actor to do? If you’re James Marsden, who stars in Death at a Funeral, opening today, you creatively lose your mind.

“I’ve never taken acid or any hard drug,” Marsden, 36, says. “My wife (former Days of Our Lives actress Lisa Linde) tried to get me to take a mushroom, but I was too scared. Instead I watched a documentary on the man who invented LSD. But the most important research I gathered was from the crewmembers. I asked them about their acid trips in the 1960s and 1970s.”

For Marsden, the role was liberating.

Jimmy appeared on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” this Tuesday. I’ve uploaded screen captures from the show to the gallery.

GALLERY LINK:
Screen Captures > TV Shows > [2010.04.13]”The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson”

LatinoReview.com posted an interview with the cast of “Death At A Funeral”, click here to read the full article.

Actor James Marsden’s wife was so keen for him to land his drugged-out role in new film Death At A Funeral, she suggested he take hallucinogens to experience a real life drug trip before his audition.

The actor’s character, Oscar, accidentally mistakes acid for Valium and trips throughout the comedy.

And his wife, former actress Lisa Linde, was convinced getting high on mushrooms would help him ace his audition.

I added 35 high quality photos from “Death At A Funeral” Los Angeles Premiere.

GALLERY LINK:
Public Appearances > 2010 Appearances > [2010.04.12]”Death At A Funeral” Los Angeles Premiere (HQ)

ComingSoon.net: Your character is one of the best parts of the film. Did you know you had the best role when you read the script?
James Marsden: When I read the script I thought selfishly this was the best character in the movie. That might come off as really bold or arrogant but to me this guy is involuntarily on an acid trip at a predominately black funeral. You’ve got to really work hard to screw that up. I was on the plane reading the script and I was laughing at what he had to endure and go through. The woman sitting next to me is going, “Stop laughing. Nothing is that funny. What are you laughing at?” I didn’t know that the British film had been made already so I was getting really excited that this was just an original idea and a great farce. Then I saw the British film – the original which was really well executed and Alan Tudyk who played my role in that film was perfect. So that was really my work that was cut out for me. How do you improve upon or just do your own thing when he knocked it out of the park.

CS: Did you stick to the script or did you improv at all?